ACT XXX: WOMEN OF HONOR (PART II)

Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.

Amelia Earhart

September 19th, AD 2299/18th day of the Autumn Equinox, 1748 (summer season), Akane's tent, 06:50 PM (dawn)

The first thing Akane saw upon arriving at the village was a group of raiders, which, as far as she caught a glimpse as she desperately ran to her tent, were a group of humanoid felines similar in size to the rapist she had killed minutes before, all of them mounted on riding lizards, armed with swords, spears and other unusual weapons that the inhabitants of the Plains region did not normally use, which meant that they were foreigners, coming from some distant realm away from that place.

And they all began to surround the hamlet, in order to prevent people from entering or leaving the place, although Akane managed to slip away while she, with her friend still wounded at her back, and thanks to her military training as a Japanese Space Self-Defense Force Space Ranger, hid behind some rocks, trees, and teepees, which allowed the human woman to reach her home.

Once inside her tent, the first thing the human woman did was to zipper up the door to her home, and once she had made sure everything was in order in a more or less improvised fashion, Akane Araki laid Kayce down in her sleeping bag, so that she could rest and be safe from any danger, while Akane prepared herself to take action with her own hands.

-"What is... going on out there... Akane?"- The non-human feline girl, still in pain, asked to the African-Japanese soldier. -"Why there is... too many screams and noise... outside?"-

-"That's because your village is under attack, Kayce honey!"- Akane informed loudly to her friend, while she frantically searched her trunk where she kept her weapons, looking for anything that might help her fight the invaders. -"And I'm going to find whoever is attacking this place and stop them, no matter what!"-

-"Wha... WHAT?"- The alien girl responded in shock, even in her sorry condition. -"My village... is being attacked?"-

Akane, knowing that her friend was still weak after what happened in the river, tried to reassure her in some way as she held her hand in that instant, even if the human herself was as terrified as her friend about what was happening around her.

-"Look... I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to put an end to this somehow, little kitty."- Akane explained to Kayce, still frightened, what the female Earth soldier planned to do to defend her temporary homeland. -"I need you to stay here in my teepee so that you can be safe... and don't leave my teepee for any reason until I return. Is that clear, sweetie?"-

And at that moment, Akane put on her non-human friend's wrist a device that had the shape of a smartwatch that the human had in her trunk, only, rather than being a smart device, it had a red button on its place. Afterwards, the African-Japanese woman proceeded to explain to her what it was for.

-"In the event that you are in imminent danger or someone other than me tries to storm my teepee, press this red button, and I will come right away to help you..."-

But at that moment, although Kayce seemed to understand the indications given by her human friend, the young maiden's hands began to tremble noticeably, and she seemed unable to respond to Akane, the latter fearing that her feline friend was suffering from something that she had not noticed before when examining her body after she dealt with Brutus in the river.

-"Oh... no, no, no!"-

The black woman cursed her luck, fearing that the worst was happening to her friend. Immediately afterwards, the human checked her friend's pulse and breathing; even if that check was too quick to give an accurate diagnosis without proper tools, all the symptoms indicated that Kayce was suffering a massive panic attack, a combined product from the rape she had undergone, and at the same time the knowledge that her village, along with all the people she loved, including her daughter, were in danger.

-"Shit, hell of a time to have a panic attack! I just hope her heart can take all this..."- Akane desperately brooded at that instant as she saw her friend shivering with fear, and breathing frantically in the face of the crisis they were both immersed up to their necks in.

With no more time to waste, Akane Araki was preparing herself to head out to fight the invaders led by Commander Arn, with the weapons and training she had at hand, and for which she had readied herself for a crisis such as the one that was taking place that day.

But, because she was only wearing lighter clothing, which included a tank-top, khaki pants, military boots, and gloves, the human prepared herself in the more or less adequate manner she had on hand.

-"Great, I can't believe I'm about to fight for my life in a place I thought would be quiet and peaceful, and now I'm in the middle of a tribal raid!"- Akane kept wondering in her mind. -"First, some tiger rapist attacked one of my friends, who now needs my help, and now this village is being attacked by the cronies of that giant asshole!"-

Akane took out a flak vest from her trunk, which offered more or less limited armor against projectiles up to medium calibers; considering the type of primitive weaponry her enemies possibly possessed, that was more than enough to protect her against arrows. Underneath the vest, she also put on a stab-proof vest, which also protected her against sharp weapons, such as knives, ice picks, nails and arrows fired from bows, although, considering that that armor was manufactured in 23rd century Earth, Akane had no idea if it would work against larger weapons, such as swords or spears.

But at least that was better than having no armor on her that could protect her.

With the armor on, the human woman packed the gear she would use to fight with. Akane also took out from the trunk two katanas, which were her favorite weapons for close combat, and that she received at the time of finishing her training as a samurai at the Katori Shintō-ryū school, along with two tanto knives as backup weapons in case she lost her swords for some reason.

In addition to that, she also did a quick check of the knife she already had with her when she went to look for Kayce at the river, to see if it was sound. That done, the female soldier also tacked on more kunais to her armament, along with the one she already had on hand minutes before.

And just in case it is needed, Akane also took two boxes of RIP rounds for her Raging Bull handgun; although it would have been quicker for her to deal with the attackers with a firearm in order to end the crisis as quickly as possible, she knew she could not take the chance that a stray bullet might accidentally injure an innocent person. In addition, the use of RIP bullets increased the risk of shrapnel hitting where it shouldn't, so using a katana was safer for the tribespeople where she lived than using a gun.

-"I hope this will be enough to end the threat against my friends."- She thought. -"I want to save everyone in this tribe, and as long as blood runs through my veins, I, Akane Araki, won't let those bastards lay a finger on my furry friends, even if it costs me my life!"-

Akane was almost ready to leave, but she still had to do another essential check: to know if her non-human friend was still in a safe condition to remain in her home.

-"Kayce, sweetie, are you alright?"- Akane asked her friend in a gentler tone of voice.

The young brown-furred maiden was still gasping heavily, and she no longer had the strength to speak.

-"Oh, crap! Let me check you again, dear..."- The human, visibly concerned, rechecked her vital signs.

Seeing that Kayce's vital signs were visibly accelerated by the crisis she was suffering, Akane took out a bag with absorbent bandages, and she gave a strip to the young alien girl, while she gave her directions.

-"Look, put these bandages on your groin to absorb any blood you may still have there, and to soothe the pain."- Akane explained to her feline friend. -"Fortunately you haven't lost much blood, so that may be enough for the time being. Once this is over, I'll bring help for you."-

The girl, who was still suffering from a panic attack, only responded by shaking her head in the affirmative. Seeing the state of pain and dread that the young alien girl was suffering, Akane lovingly hugged Kayce, her eyes filled with tears, not being able to stomach seeing her little friend suffer in such a way.

-"Don't worry, everything will be fine, little kitty..."- The human said in a saddened, almost broken voice, at her friend, while petting her head. -"...I'll take care of those bastards, believe me..."-

Immediately after, Akane went to her laptop to turn it on quickly, while she plugged several cables into the computer's input ports. Once the operating system had fully loaded, the electronic voice of the Net asked, in Japanese for obvious reasons, as Kayce was present there, to the owner of the machine.

-"(こんにちは、荒木軍曹。) Good afternoon, Sargeant Araki."- The AI asked the human first after the laptop and the OS were booted on. -"(あなたの雰囲気からして、とても深刻な問題があるようですね。 何が起こっているのか、教えていただけますか？) I can tell from your mood that there's some very serious trouble. May I know what's going on, sir?"-

-"(この村は攻撃されているんだ。) The village is under attack."- Akane explained to the computer, this time using a more neutral way to speak, rather than her Osaka accent she normally used when speaking to everyone else in Japanese.

-"(本当ですか、軍曹？) Really, sargeant?"- The AI responded with neutral concern, as it didn't knew what happened so far.

-"(本当だ、ネット。) That's right, Net."- The human replied, while typing some commands at lightning speed on the laptop's keyboard. -"(そして、君がベッドで見ているあたしの友人は、攻撃者の一人に襲われてレイプされた。だから、彼女は安全のために、当分の間ここにいることになった。) And the friend of mine that you see there in my bed was attacked and raped by one of the aggressors, and that is why she will be here for the time being, for her safety."-

The artificial intelligence, despite being basically a program, could not help but respond uneasily to the terrible news about what had happened to Kayce, as it was designed to also have empathy for the user of the machine and their loved ones.

-"(申し訳ございませんでした、軍曹。) I am very sorry to hear that, sir."-

-"(はい、わかったよ、ネット。) Yes, I know that, Net."-

Once she finished keyboarding commands into the computer, Akane also gave verbal orders to the Net, so that the artificial intelligence would know what to do next.

-"(ネット、このテントを守るためにＡＥＧＩＳ〔イージス〕防御プロトコルを作動させてほしい。) Net, I need you to activate the AEGIS defense protocol to protect this tent."- The African-Japanese Space Ranger ordered the AI. -"(いかなる状況下でも、あたしとリスカ・タス・ソ・ウェン氏以外の人をここに入れるな。さもなくば、適切と思われる場合には、殺傷力を行使する権限を与える。 いいな？) Do not allow anyone but me or Miss Liska Tas-so-wen to enter this place under any circumstances; otherwise, you are authorized to use lethal force if you see fit. Am I clear?"-

-"(了解です、軍曹。) Understood, sir."- The computer confirmed the order to its owner and set about activating the procedures to safeguard Akane's home. -"(ＡＥＧＩＳ防御プロトコル、起動。) AEGIS defense protocols activated."-

Immediately afterwards, an intense sound was heard in the vicinity of Akane's tent, indicating that the AEGIS defense protocol was working as it should.

The AEGIS defense protocol is partially inspired by the AEGIS Combat System, the legendary naval weapon system created by the U.S. Navy, which in turn owes its name to the famous Aegis shield from the Greek mythology, created by Zeus and also carried by his daughter, Athena. Like its naval counterpart, the AEGIS protocol was designed to automatically protect specific locations from enemy attacks or intrusions, especially when for some reason the defenders cannot actively protect the entire perimeter of the defended area for some reason, such as lack of reinforcements, as was the case in Akane.

That system was created at the beginning of the 22nd century after years of wars and local conflicts that occurred following World War III, and basically, in its most fundamental version, it is mainly a system of small arms that are activated automatically, along with other defensive weapons systems, such as electric discharges launched from the tent frame and other hidden places around it, when an unauthorized person tries to enter a defended area with the intention of attacking it.

With all the defense systems in place, Akane quickly prepared to leave her home, with her weapons at hand, and without wasting any more time, the human woman headed outside to protect her feline friends from the foreign invaders who intended to enslave them.

But before leaving, the soldier gave a farewell message to her friend Kayce, who was still in her bed.

-"Please wait for me, Kayce sweetie... I promise I'll be right back..."-

And once at the door, Akane only managed to say the following, as a way of encouraging herself...

-"Well... time to show those cats the meaning of fucking with a samurai..."-

Immediately after, Akane left her tent and went into action.

September 19th, AD 2299/18th day of the Autumn Equinox, 1748 (summer season), White River Village (Communal Area), 07:00 PM (dawn)

While this was happening, the attackers under the command of Commander Arn continued to close in on the village, while the residents were desperately trying to escape to their homes, along with their families, and especially with their young children, for they would have been easy targets for the foreign invaders...

-"(Vos omnes, incipiunt impetum!) All of you, start the raid!"- Arn yelled in Romalian, his native language, to his men. -"(Capere omnes mulieres et filios vos can reperio vivit, et occidere qui resistit!) Capture all the women and children you can find alive, and kill anyone who resists!"-

And furthermore, he gave an extra command to his warriors, just to remind them of what he had ordered on the hill, minutes before.

-"(Et ego maxime volo, quod tenebris nigra mulier vivit!) And I want that dark-skinned woman alive!"- The cougar man said, referring to Akane, their main and preferred target of that raid. -"(Si quis ponit digitum in eam, ego occidere quod homo cum gladium meum! Non omnes intelligere?) If anyone lays a finger on her, I'm going to quarter him alive with my sword! Do I make myself clear?"-

-"(SIC, DOMINE!) YES, SIR!"-

Immediately after, the Romalian bandits began their attack on the village, starting to harass anyone they could find on their way, in order to capture them and then sell them as slaves.

On the other hand, Mother Sanna, who was originally still helping to prepare the okonimiyaki before the attackers appeared on the spot, tried, in a desperate attempt, to help as many villagers as she could, in order to hide those who could not make it to their homes so that at least they could hide inside her teepee for the duration of the enemy attack...

-"Everyone, get in here, and don't come out until the attack is over, HURRY!"- The old feline lady gave instructions to the villagers, as they rushed into her teepee.

What the old woman did not realize at the time, while she was busy helping her people, was that one of the raiders was running, on his riding lizard, towards her while her back was turned, and as soon as she realized that she might be in danger, the first thing she felt was that someone threw himself at her, causing her to fall violently to the ground, while her attacker, who had the appearance of a humanoid lynx, had her in his clutches.

-"HAHAHAHAHA! (Dominus dixit ad me non potui occidere quemquam, sed ipse nunquam dixit aliquid circa habens meam hospitii cum aliqua mulieres!) The boss told me I couldn't kill anyone, but he never said anything about having fun with some of the women!"- The Romalian bandid said at Mother Sanna, while salivating near her frightened face. -"(Et ego committitur cum te!) And I will start with you!"-

The old woman tried with all her strength to free herself from the hands of the man, who was clearly trying to rape her, and screamed for help.

-"GET YOUR FILTHY CLAWS OFF ME, YOU ROTTEN MONSTER!"- The old Siamese-like feline woman yelled at her agressor.

And in a desperate attempt to free herself, the old woman spat in the face of her foreign aggressor. This caused the man to become enraged, and immediately after...

-"AGHHHH! (TIBI SORDIDA MERETRIX!) YOU DIRTY WHORE!"-

SLAP!

...The feline man yelled in rageful disgust and then, he violently slapped her in retaliation, causing her a bruise in her face.

Also, forgetting completely the instructions he had received about not killing anyone unless necessary, the aggressor, already completely angry after being spat in his face, began to strangle the old woman's neck, in order to break it once in revenge for the affront he received from the woman...

-"(Nisi forte vos operae pretium erit mortuus, MORI!) Maybe you only worth dead! DIE!"-

As the bandit began to strangle Sanna with his own hands, the latter saw a enormous silhouette emerging swiftly behind her attacker, who seemed to be wielding some kind of weapon in both hands. The old woman, unable to speak at that moment, and due to her state of shock, could not immediately notice who was behind the man trying to kill her, and she began to fear the worst...

Until suddenly, and without missing a beat...

SWIIIING!

The first thing the old feline woman heard was the sound of a metallic object swinging rapidly close to the Romalian warbandit's head...

-"(Quam alienis...) How strange..."- The man said with a broken voice. -"(Cur mea collum ita sentire fri..?) Why does my neck feel so co...?"-

And immediately afterwards, the first thing Sanna saw, to her own horror and shock, was that the head of the man who had intended to rape her after killing her first fell to her right side like a rock, while a huge stream of blood spurted from the neck of the now dead body whom the silhouette that the old woman had seen seconds before had personally decapitated.

The old Native woman, for obvious reasons, shrieked in revulsion, and quickly flung aside the bandit's headless corpse, while she tried to find out, once she had regained the full use of her senses, who was the person who had killed her aggressor.

To her personal surprise, the person Sanna saw before her, a woman with a katana, was the last person she would imagine coming out to help fight the invaders attacking her home village...

-"A... A... AKANE?!"- The Siamese-like woman stuttered the name of the sword-wielding African-Japanese human soldier in front of her. -"IS THAT YOU?"-

And quickly enough, Akane Araki hugged the old woman, happy to see that she was well, the only problem that Sanna had suffered until that moment was that her clothes were full of dirt and blood, the latter was from the man who tried to choke her to death before the black woman decapitated him with her katana.

-"Yes, grandmother... it's me..."- Akane replied, with tears in her own eyes. -"I'm here to help you and your people..."-

At that moment, the old woman did not know what to say to the human woman, due to the frightening event she had endured on her own person minutes before; not to mention the fact that Akane appeared completely different from how she had seen the human woman earlier when the soldier had gone out to look for Kayce in the river. Mainly, Akane wore a flak vest, along with a stab-proof vest below it, which she wore several kunais, and in addition to that, she wore two katanas, one on each side of her waist. And that's not to mention the other concealed weapons that woman from Japan had on hand in case of an emergency...

It was evident that foreign woman, who belonged to a race completely unknown to the old woman, had revealed her true colors to her, and that Akane's true identity was that of a warrior, which caused some astonishment and disbelief in the healer, who up to that point thought that apparently unruly, temperamental, and whiny girl was in reality a battle-hardened warrior woman. But on the other hand, she was glad to see Akane alive, and it was the first thing she commented to the human.

-"Akane, thank goodness you're all right, I thought those bandits had captured you!"- Mother Sanna gushed to Akane in the most effusive way possible, especially after the female Earth soldier saved her life. -"But..."-

Immediately after, the old woman pointed to the katanas that Akane had at her waist.

-"How is it possible that you can use those Hinowan swords?"- The elderly female alien asked about the true identity of the human female soldier, especially upon seeing the samurai swords and her weapons that she carried with her. -"Could it be that you are a...?"-

-"Oh, you mean my katanas?"- Akane was quick to respond. -"That's because I'm a soldier... or if you want to be more specific... I'm also a samurai..."-

Sanna, who didn't exactly understand the context of "samurai", at least not in the same way Akane understood it, could only frame the human's words with the closest term she knew.

-"Are you really a... bushi?"-

Akane quickly understood what the old woman was referring to, as the term "bushi" was synonymous with "samurai" in Japanese, and it was possible that the equivalent of samurai on that planet was referred to by that name, for some reason that the Space Ranger didn't fully understand at the time, so Akane simply went along with it.

-"Well... you could say yes, grandmother..."- Akane responded. -"Although I am primarily a soldier, a member of a military force from another country far away from yours."-

-"Oh, I see."-

-"Well, there's no time for explanations about me, I'll tell you the whole truth when I'm done with this!"- The black woman had more important issues to deal with than talking about herself at that stage. -"Where's Liska and the other girls, huh?"-

-"I don't know,"- The old alien lady replied at the now human samurai-like warrior. -"after what happened with me I have lost sight of her, and I don't know if the other women are safe in their homes!"-

-"I wouldn't be surprised if that girl ran away from the village in the middle of all this mayhem... and I don't blame her for it, to be honest!"- Akane said to herself, seeing that her slave friend may have fled the village taking advantage of the attack on the place by the Romalian bandits. Even if she could not have said goodbye to her, on the other hand she understood very well if Liska would have done it if she had wanted to obtain her freedom from her captors...

...although on the other hand, the human also felt that the girl did not, from what she knew of her, seem to be someone who would run away at the slightest sign of trouble either.

After all, she had a mate whom she loved... unless she was faking it for her own good. But she didn't have time to think about those specifics at the moment, since she had to fight the invaders first, and worry about what would happen later at a better opportunity.

-"By the way, Akane,"- Sanna asked to the African-Japanese soldier. -"what happened with Kayce? Is she all right?"-

The human decided not to be very specific about what had happened to her friend, because, beyond the possibility that the old woman could not do anything without her risking death at the hands of the AEGIS protocol that Akane activated in her tent to protect the place, the knowledge that the young girl had been raped by one of the aggressors could surely disturb her, and would have complicated things even more for the human at that critical moment.

-"I can only say that she is alive... but she is wounded... I cannot give specifics now, but she is not in danger, I can assure you, grandmother."-

-"Oh, no..."- The old feline lady said at the human in a concerned way. -"I just hope she is well."-

-"Now, I don't have time to discuss things right now, grandmother, I have a job to do on killing those bastards!"- Akane yelled.

-"I understand you, Akane, there are still a lot of raiders to..."-

But, in that moment...

-"HYAAAAAAAAA!"-

The voice Akane and Sanna heard was that of a little girl, screaming in terror at that instant. And, to the distress of both women, that voice was too familiar for them to ignore...

-"Oh, SHIT! It's Panka!"- Akane cursed in Japanese after hearing the voice of Pyndan's little sister.

The human woman tried to guess where the girl's screams were coming from, but, due to the uproar produced by the conflict that was taking place in the village, it was almost impossible for Akane to know where Panka was at that moment, only that she knew that the girl was in danger...

-"Please, Akane, go and try to save Panka, for heaven's sake!"- Sanna cried at the katana-wielding woman. -"If anything happens to that little girl...!"-

-"I KNOW THAT, DAMMIT!"- Akane interrupted her. -"Just tell me where the hell she is, I can't spot her amidst all this noise!"-

-"Can't you know where she is, Akane?"-

-"LIKE HELL I CAN! My kind doesn't have as sensitive ears as yours, grandmother, and if you know where she is, I'd appreciate that!"- The human replied angrily at the old woman, since she was not able to locate the exact direction where Panka was, and because Akane was human, she was unable to discern whatever sounds were taking place around her, unlike her feline hosts.

Thus, Sanna pointed her finger in the exact direction where Pyndan's younger sister might be, which caused Akane to look in that way...

-"She must be there, Akane, near her brother's teepee; go and save that girl now!"-

-"Coming right up, grandmother!"-

With no more time to lose, the human ran, katana in hand, to where Pyndan's teepee was, in which Panka would surely be in danger. The old woman, on the other hand, could only watch as Akane ran to help the girl, without caring about anything but helping her hosts, even at the risk of her own life...

-"Good luck, Akane dear..."-

September 19th, AD 2299/18th day of the Autumn Equinox, 1748 (summer season), White River Village (Near Pyndan's tent), 07:15 PM (dawn)

The first thing Akane saw, when she was five teepees away, was that Panka was standing near her own home, along with Gareth, the son of Chief Pownetkee, while the two of them were surrounded by two bandits on riding lizards, with the intention of taking both children as their prey.

Gareth, who had a spear that he had found lying on the ground while he was trying to help the little girl, was desperately trying to protect her, while Panka was behind him, crying with fear at the sight of the two foreign bandits trying to take her and Gareth by force, while the latter, being a male son of the tribe chief, was trying to do everything he could to save her... or die trying.

-"Hehehehehe... (Ut posuere id telum descendit, et puer parvulus, vos erant' iens ut noceat te cum.) You should put that weapon down, little boy, you're going to hurt yourself with it."- One of the Romalian raiders teased Gareth in his own language.

-"(Etiam, ego non puto vos erant iens ad aliquid quod ludibrium.) Yes, I don't think you're going to do anything with that toy."- The other bandid followed suit on the teasing.

Both bandits menacingly strode towards the children, while Gareth pointed his spear at them, hissing furiously, in order to frighten his assailants, to no avail.

-"Gareth, I'm scared..."- Panka said at the little Calico-like boy, fearful to see the raiders closing in on them.

-"Don't worry, Panka,"- Gareth assured the little kitten girl, without losing his sight on the invaders in front of him. -"I won't let these monsters touch you, even if they have to kill me to do it..."-

The foreign invaders, perhaps because they did not want to be forced to hurt children, preferred to simply approach them to force both kids to surrender to them, thinking that the two children would simply choose to yield rather than Gareth having to fight both adults in order to protect Panka, and be killed in the attempt.

-"(Age, puer, da mihi tuum hasta, et esse obediens puer.) Come on, boy, give me your spear and be an obedient child."- The first bandit stretched out his hand to Gareth, in order to invite him to hand over his weapon and surrender to the two men.

But the little Native warrior, showing no fear at all when confronting the Romalians, seeing that both adults were trying to force him to hand over his spear, in an incredibly defiant attitude, not only he refused to hand it over, but also, the boy even spat on his aggressor's hand, while he threatened him loudly in his own language.

-"YOU CAN GO TO HELL, YOU MONSTER!"-

The foreign bandit, visibly furious at seeing that the boy had spat on his hand, chose to stop playing nice, and without another word, the man, who was armed with a club, raised a threatening shout, and giving orders to his ride, the aggressor readied himself to attack the boy with all his might.

But Gareth, who was the son of the chief of the tribe, was determined to fight to the bitter end to protect the girl from both aggressors, even though he knew he was at a severe disadvantage against two adult warriors who were bigger, stronger and faster than he was, not to mention that both were mounted on riding lizards, while the boy was on foot.

Unfortunately, there was not much a child under 6 years old armed with a spear could do against two grown men on lizardback...

SLAM!

At that instant, Gareth felt the violent impact of a club in his abdomen, which was violent enough to throw him several meters away from where he was, when he tried to run against the invaders to attack them first. The blow was hard enough to knock him unconscious on the ground, prompting Panka's shock and horror, believing that her little friend who was defending the girl was dead...

-"Gareth!"-

Meanwhile, Akane, who was desperately trying to get to the scene, watched helplessly as the whole thing was going on, while she could do nothing to prevent it, because of the distance she was in, and the whole chaos surrounding her caused by the attack on the village, which forced the human to advance cautiously, hiding behind each teepee to avoid being seen by the raiders.

-"Oh, fuck, Panka is in danger!"- The Space Ranger cursed after watching how Gareth was put out of commision by both raiders.

Meanwhile, as if things could not go from bad to worse for the girl, Panka did not notice, due to the state of shock she was in after seeing her friend suddenly knocked out, that one of the foreign bandits suddenly and violently grabbed her left arm, lifting her from the ground instantly. The Romalian warrior, a humanoid lion, gloated to see that at least he had somebody to drag away and sell as a slave...

-"(Bene, ut non sit multum, sed, ut arbitror posset saltem accipere aliquid pro hoc puella.) Well, it may not be much, but I think we could at least receive something for this girl."- The thug boasted aloud to his other companion, as he held Panka's arm as if it were a rag doll or a trophy.

-"(Ego conveniunt cum ut!) Agree with that!"- The other partner replied in his own language.

The little kitten girl, meanwhile, tried desperately to free herself from her captor, as she cried out for help...

-"YAAAAAAAAHHH! LET ME GO, YOU MONSTER! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"-

Faced with that critical situation, and seeing that the bandits were about to leave the place with Panka in their clutches, Akane, sensing that she would not be able to reach the scene to help the girl by her own means, drew her Raging Bull revolver, and she was ready to shoot against the aggressors.

The human knew that she was taking a major gamble by using such a large caliber weapon, and even more so by using RIP expansive rounds, which were designed not only to kill very large and dangerous targets, but also to make sure that the person using that type of ammunition wanted to make sure that his target was more than dead. Even if the bullets were also designed to avoid collateral damage, Akane had to be very sure that the bullets would hit the body of the man she was targeting, and that Panka would not suffer any damage when the assailant fell dead.

Armed with the revolver in her hand, the human quickly pointed it at the back of the man holding the little girl by her arm, while Akane prayed for a miracle to prevent Panka from being hurt... or worse.

-"God, forgive me for what I'm about to do, but I must protect that girl WHATEVER IT TAKES!"-

But before the African-Japanese woman could even touch the trigger of her revolver...

SWIIIISHHH!

The first thing Akane saw, before she could react, was that a spear, coming out of nowhere, struck the back of the head of the humanoid lion that had Panka in its clutches; the strike was so hard that the tip of the spear pierced through the bandit's mouth, which caused the latter to fall definitely fulminated from his riding lizard, and the latter ran terrified out of the village, seeing his master lying dead in an instantaneous way.

The other companion of the attacker, who was next to him, could only remain motionless in shock as he watched his comrade in arms suddenly killed by that spear that was thrown from some unknown place, trying to figure out what had happened.

On the other hand, Akane Araki, who had not moved from her place, was also frozen as she saw how the man was killed in a spectacular way, still with her revolver in her hand. But she did not have time to think about who could have been the person who threw that spear, because Akane knew that there was still the other fellow bandit of the dead warrior, who still did not overcome his stunned shock, and the human knew that she had to deal with him as quickly as she could.

And without wasting anymore of her time, the female soldier quickly dashed straight towards the marauder astride his riding lizard, pocketing her revolver in her holster, but using instead one of her kunais, which was a more suitable weapon for the case. Akane was lucky to have the surprise factor on her side, because the bandit could not hear her sneak up on him amidst all the chaos that was unfolding in the village, while the human ran with all her might to attack the humanoid feline, which had the look of a leopard.

And when the latter turned around to see who was the one who threw that spear...

-"(QUID...?!) WHAT THE...?!"-

...the last thing the attacker saw in his life was the face of Akane, who had thrown her kunai straight at him. The blade hit directly into his throat, causing the feline to bleed to death on the spot, while the human frantically ran to Panka, who was already on the ground after falling together with the other man killed by the spear thrown by someone else.

The woman of African origin quickly tried to see if the girl was still alive, as the latter was not reacting when Akane held her up to assess her condition. To the soldier's good fortune, Panka had made it through the tragic event. However...

-"Are you alright, Panka sweetie?!"- Akane said aloud to the feline girl.

...when Akane began to examine whether the alien girl had suffered any significant injuries, the latter began to cry in pain as loud as she could, evidencing that she had a broken bone somewhere...

-"BWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! MY ARM! MY ARM! MY ARM HURTS!"-

Everything pointed to the fact that Panka, when she fell to the ground after the spear killed her assailant, her arm landed first, which caused the latter to be broken or dislocated. Being a girl of about six years old, it was possible that the injury was serious, but without proper tools to verify her arm at the moment, the only thing Akane could do was trying to calm the alien girl somehow in that critical situation.

-"Now, now, calm down, everything is going to be all right, little kitty!"- Akane tried to comfort the girl, while she petted her head to soothe her as best she could. -"You're safe now, relax, honey..."-

While she was trying to reassure Panka, who was still crying in pain, the human suddenly heard a female voice coming towards the two people as fast as she could.

When Akane realized who she was, she didn't know what she should be more surprised by: the fact that woman addressed her in Japanese, or her mere presence, for she was carrying another spear in her hand to defend herself. And that person was too well known to Akane to simply ignore her as well...

-"(パンカちゃんは大丈夫ですか，明音さん？) Is Panka-chan well, Akane-san?"- The Japanese-speaking girl asked to the Earth woman from Japan.

At that instant, Akane Araki took a few seconds to respond, seeing the girl speaking to her in "Hinowan", aka Japanese, albeit with a foreign accent, and when she finally recovered from her astonishment, the African-Japanese woman also responded in the same language with some staggering tone due to her state of mind.

-"(リ。。。リ。。。リスカちゃん？！) Li... Li... Liska-chan?!"- Akane responded in shock, especially after seeing the ginger-furred girl carrying another spear in her hands, since she never expected a slave girl like her was able to fight, much less to kill another person. -"(まさか、この奴を殺したのは。。。？) Don't tell me you were the one who killed that...?"-

-"(そうです、奴を殺したのはあたしです、明音さん。) Yes... I was the one who killed him, Akane-san."- The feline girl interrupted her outsider friend.

When Akane saw the corpse of the bandit that Liska killed from a distance with her spear, the soldier could not doubt that her best friend was the one who had managed such a feat, despite having no visible combat skills, which left her dumbfounded afterwards.

-"(本当によく狙っていよ、君は。) You really have a good aim, sweetie."- The samurai woman reacted with an air of sarcasm at the sight of the assailant's corpse.

On the other hand, Liska was likewise struck by the sight of her human friend carrying swords and weapons with her, exposing that Akane was a soldier, and not simply an explorer, as she had claimed to be since the day she arrived at the tribe.

-"(ところで、どうしてヒノワの剣を使っているのですか、明音さん？) By the way, why are you using Hinowan swords, Akane-san?"- The slave girl asked to her friend. -"(まさか、あなたは本当に。。。) Don't tell me you are really a..."-

Akane had no desire or time to answer the question raised by her friend, as Panka was still crying in pain and they had to find a way to put the girl to safety somehow...

-"Look, honey, I'll explain all about me when we dig ourselves out of this whole mess!"- The human responded in the local language. -"Now we have to figure out a way to bring Panka to safety before the other thugs start looking at us!"-

-"Understood, Akane."-

-"Well, now we have to take this little girl to grandmother so she can treat her while we deal with the raiders."- The human replied as she carried Panka in her arms, making an effort not to cause her any more discomfort on the way. -"The only problem now is that her teepee is in that direction and now we must find a way to get there safely without having to engage in a fight with someone else. I can't do crap with this girl in my arms."-

-"That's going to be a serious problem, but..."-

The young slave agreed, also in her own language, with the point that her human friend had made. And suddenly, she looked to her sides, as if there was something around her that made her uneasy.

-"...I think we're forgetting someone else to help, Akane."-

Akane, perhaps due to her state of mind brought on by the stress of saving Panka, had forgotten that there was another person she was also supposed to help, and that if it wasn't for Liska reminding her, they probably would have forgotten about him to his fate owing to the urgency involved in helping the girl.

-"CRAP, you are right!"- Akane cursed. -"We need to help Gareth too!"-

Immediately after, and because Akane was busy with Panka in her arms, the young slave girl immediately went to help the tribal chief's son, who was still laying on the ground unconscious. Then, Liska put her hand on Gareth's chest, trying to find out if the child had any vital signs.

Luckily for both friends, the feline boy was not only still alive, but seconds later he began to regain consciousness, and opened his eyes, although he seemed to be confused, pained and frightened, especially after seeing Liska, who was a slave, in front of him, and more so her being armed with a war spear.

-"What... what happened? And what are you... doing here, Miss Liska?"- The alien child asked in pain to the young slave in front of him. -"Where is Panka?"-

-"Don't worry, she's fine, but she's in pain right now, Gareth."- The ginger-furred girl responded with warm smile in her face. -"Can you walk?"-

The boy tried to see if he had nothing broken on him, especially after having received that brutal blow on his abdomen. After a few seconds, Gareth saw that, in spite of everything, he was relatively fine, though with some scrapes on his body due to the strike, and after landing heavily on the ground; it was fortunate that the beating he received did not cause him any internal injuries, and it was likely that the bandit could not hit him hard enough to kill him, a relief for everyone, especially for Akane, who was worried that the chief's young son might have sustained some serious injuries.

-"It seems so... but my body hurts a lot."-

-"Well, at least it's good to know that guy didn't hit you so hard as I though, Gareth dear..."- The Space Ranger sighed with relief to see that the boy was still able to walk after all.

-"And what happened to those two big men?"- Gareth asked, still in shock, to both Liska and Akane, especially since both women were holding weapons, implying they did use them to kill those foreign warriors. -"Did you two... kill them?"-

Seeing that the boy had not realized that the two women had killed his aggressors, but at the same time Gareth had not seen their corpses, which were five steps away from him, both girls simply moved on, partly because they had other things to do, and partly to spare the boy the trauma of seeing two corpses of people who had died at the hands of Liska and Akane in a very... peculiar way... to put it nicely.

-"Look... we'll talk about them later when this is all over, Gareth."- Liska responded to the boy, while still holding him on his shoulders in order to calm him. -"For now, you and Panka have to hide with my mistress until we take care of the invaders, understood?"-

-"Understood, Miss Liska."- The feline boy responded at his senior.

But Akane realized that, in order to bring the children all the way to safety, they would have to walk a considerable distance to do so, and considering that there were still many outlaws roaming around the village, that would not be an easy undertaking, even for Akane, who was armed with better weapons than the single spear that Liska had in her hands.

-"Now, the problem is to bring these two children to grandmother, and we're going to have to evade some bad guys to do it. And the kicker is that we're more than five teepees away from her home."-

-"You are right on that, Akane."- The orange tabby-like slave girl responded at the black human woman.

And while both women tried to find a way out of the predicament they were in without further endangering Panka and Gareth, both Liska and Akane saw a woman who was also running in the direction of her own home to take shelter from the enemy attack on their village, and realized that she was a person very familiar to the two of them; considering the situation in which both the slave and her human friend were in at that moment, they did not hesitate to ask her for help.

-"Hey, Brocia!"- Akane was the first to draw the former slave's attention to her.

The young girl quickly turned to see who it was who was calling her name.

-"Who, me?"-

-"Yeah, I'm talking to you!"- The human yelled at the former slave woman.

So, the honey-furred girl quickly drew closer to both women, trying to avoid being noticed by any of the invaders that still swarmed her village. Once at Liska and Akane's side, she quickly noticed that both women were armed, especially Akane, whom she had never seen with a weapon in all the time the human had lived in the tribe.

-"Hey, you two! Why the hell are you two armed, huh?"- Brocia, not caring in the least about the current situation, haughtily questioned the two women, and especially the human, especially after seeing that Akane was armed with two katanas at her waist. -"Especially you, Akane; are you some kind of bu...?"-

The female Earth soldier was certainly not in the mood nor did she have time to answer such questions in that critical situation, and she barked at Brocia to let her know that.

-"I don't have time to argue that, you stupid nimrod! I need you to take these two children into your home until things calm down, and if you can take care of Panka, all the better, since she has a broken arm! Do I make myself clear?"-

Seeing that the human was angry, and also realizing that the girl Akane was holding in her arms, as well as Gareth, really needed help, Brocia agreed straight away...

-"All right, all right, I'll do it, Akane; you don't have to yell me that way, damn it!"-

Immediately after, Akane put Panka in Brocia's arms, while Gareth went to the woman's side as well, as the latter prepared to hide with the children in her home, while trying to help Pyndan's younger sister in some way.

But before the human and the slave were ready to leave the scene, Brocia had something else to say.

-"And what are you two planning to do, huh?"-

Liska answered the woman's question in a determined attitude...

-"We are going to fight against those bandits..."- The young slave responded. -"That's what we're going to do, Brocia."-

Brocia could not believe what she was hearing; as far as she knew, the women of the tribe were not allowed to go out and fight anyone, and it was the duty of the men to defend their tribe and their people no matter what. The thought that a woman, much less a slave like Liska, even if she had the help of Akane Araki, another woman, could fight against men bigger than herself, was something considered unprecedented in the entire history of the Highland tribe.

-"Are you two out of your minds or WHAT?!"- The former slave yelled at the blonde girl, disbelieving that she and the human of African origin were intending to fight the raiders who were attacking the village. -"There's no way you and Akane can fight that whole army of warriors alone, no matter how many weapons both of you have on hand!"-

But Akane, who was beginning to lose patience with Brocia, for obvious reasons, chided her aloud.

-"Well, do you have a better idea, little girl?"- The black woman retorted as loud as she could. -"In case you haven't noticed, the only people who have weapons right now, besides the chief and the Seneschal, are the two of us, so it's our duty to do something to save this tribe, instead of sitting around with our heads in the sand and not doing a DAMN thing!"-

The other woman, even if she could not understand the human's idiomatic expression in context, at least understood that Akane was right that both she and Liska should do something to protect the tribe, no matter what. But even so, she was worried that both women might be injured in combat, or worse.

But at the same time, she also knew that she could not do much to stop them, and since the other men were out of the village for hunting, now the fate of the tribe depended on those two outsiders, who were willing to protect that place as if it were their own home, even at the cost of their own lives...

-"sigh... I guess there's nothing I can do to make you two change your minds, then..."- Brocia replied, feeling resigned to see that those maidens were willing to fight to defend the tribe from the Romalian invaders. -"In that case..."-

The honey-furred girl did a brief pause, and the she replied.

-"I wish you girls luck... and may the gods protect you two."-

-"Thank you, Brocia..."- Liska thanked that girl, even if she also hated her as well. But even she knew that this was not the time to bring past resentments to a close, for she and Akane knew they needed her help at that critical moment. -"Please take care of the children in the meantime, especially Panka, will you?"-

-"I will."-

And without further ado, Brocia, with Panka in her arms, and also Gareth as well, ran quickly to her home to take shelter in the meantime, while trying to do her best to heal the little kitten girl.

Meanwhile, Akane and Liska ran in the opposite direction to try to fight against the invaders who tried to destroy the village and take everyone else, especially the human, as their slaves.

-"Hey, sweetie, I forgot to ask you something."- Akane asked her feline friend, while both girl where running at the same time.

-"What do you want to ask me, Akane?"-

-"Why were you talking to me a few moments ago in Hinowan after I killed the other warrior?"- The African-Japanese Space Ranger questioned the reason why Liska was speaking to her in Japanese when the both were reunited after they killed those two raiders who tried to kidnap Panka -"Just out of curiosity."-

-"Well, I thought it would be more convenient for us to speak in a language that the invaders would not understand and thus prevent them from learning of our movements."- The feline girl responded at her friend's query. -"Is there a problem with that, Akane?"-

-"Well... technically... no, dear, but..."-

The human smiled somewhat mischievously as she realized that her alien friend was smart enough to take this into consideration. Of all the ideas Akane could have thought of to prevent the invaders from understanding her plans, it never occurred to her to use her own language to communicate with those people living in the village who could speak and understand Japanese, as was the case with Liska, Mother Sanna, and Chief Pownetkee.

-"...your idea about using Hinowan never crossed my mind, to be honest."- Akane responded. -"In fact, it sounds rather great to me."-

The slave smiled as she saw her friend congratulating her on her idea.

-"Oh, thank you, Akane."-

But before the two women could discuss further...

-"HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEE!"-

Both women heard the scream of a woman coming in their own direction, so they did not hesitate to run to that person's defense.

-"We'll talk about that later, darling; someone else needs our help!"-

-"I agree with you, Akane!".

-"Well, let's go!"-

And so, Liska and Akane raced as fast as they could to help the endangered woman, being the only people who had the ability to fight at that moment.

September 19th, AD 2299/18th day of the Autumn Equinox, 1748 (summer season), White River Village (Near Kebec's tent), 07:25 PM (dawn)

As the two female warriors drew closer to see who was in danger, they realized that the person who needed their help was the last person they would normally have preferred not to help under better circumstances.

And that person was none other than Kebec Lo-ke-dan, Kayce's younger sister.

By the time they arrived to help her, two Romalian bandits, who were mounted on riding lizards, were aggressively circling her, in order to either attack her or take her as their prisoner.

-"Heheheheh! (Veni, puella!) Come here, little girl!"- The first thug, which was a lynx man, yelled at Kebec.

-"(Etiam, nos non nocebit te!)"- Yes, we will not hurt you!"- His other partner, a panther man, followed suit.

But she was trying to find a way to shake off her pursuers, while crying for help...

-"STAY AWAY FROM ME, YOU BASTARDS! HEEEEEEEEEEELP!"-

Despite her attempts to free herself from her assailants, the lynx-like bandit, once he had Kebec in his grasp, quickly grabbed her arm, and swiftly threw himself at her from his riding lizard, both of them falling to the ground.

Immediately, the foreign warrior seemed to pleasure himself in watching how that young woman was terrified at the sight of his face, knowing full well what could happen...

-"(Bene, ego nesciebam mulieres ex his locis sunt, ita pulchra!) Well, I didn't know the women from these places were so beautiful!"- The raider gloated in his own tongue toward the white-furred maiden.

And at that moment, the Romalian began to touch Kebec on her breast in a lewd manner, feasting his eyes on the woman who looked at him in horror as she was being molested by that foreigner.

-"WHY YOU...!"-

And having no other weapons at hand with which to defend herself, the Native maiden, in a last-ditch move to fight off the man who was groping her inappropriately, unsheathed the claws of her hands, in order to use them to attack her molester, while hissing aloud like a very rabid cat...

...But, unfortunately for her, the invader had a lot of experience in dealing with women who used such tactics to ward him off, and quickly, the warrior gripped both of her hands, which, with their claws out, were ready to attack him.

-"Ha! (Tibi videtur nescio ars usura unguibus contra homo, tu parum meretrix?) You think I don't know that tactic about using claws against a man, you little whore?"- The humanoid lynx continued his gloating on the girl. -"(Ultimum mulier qui fecit quod nisus sursum sine eius unguibus et manibus eius, puella!) The last woman who did that ended up without her claws and her hands, little girl!"-

And seeing that Kebec was still struggling against him, the foreign stranger invader began to fondle her hips, possibly with even more sinister intentions than just touching her breasts...

-"(Fortasse ego festo in te prius nos vendere vos in servitutem!) Perhaps I will feast on you first before we sell you into slavery! HAHAHAHA!"-

-"Please... don't touch me... help me... somebody save me..."-

Kebec was terrified as she had never been in her life; this was the first time someone other than her husband, Kasil, was pawing her, and now all indications were that the Romalian warrior was plotting to rape her right there in front of everyone in the tribe. All she could do was watch in horror as that vicious lynx-like bandit began to stroke her hips, while he began to bring his hand down even further from there.

But when all seemed lost for her...

SCHHWAFF!

-"UGHHHHH!"-

The first thing she noticed, to her horror, was how something that looked like a spear had impaled the body of the man who intended to rape her, as that man gave his last throes and then, he bled to death right there, staining Kebec, who was below him, with his blood.

Once she had made sure her attacker was more than inert, the feline girl moved away from the body as soon as she could, while she was trying to find out who was the person who saved her from being sexually attacked by that foreign invader.

-"Are you alright, Kebec?"-

To her surprise, that person was the last person she expected in her life for anyone to help her...

-"Li- Liska..."- She was trying to digest the surprise of seeing that slave protecting her from a man who was trying to rape her, and that she still had the bravery to kill him without a second thought. -"it's that...you?"-

Kebec had reason to be surprised to see how that young slave girl was armed with a spear and had managed to kill a man bigger than herself: the fact that a woman could take up arms against a man was something unheard of both for her and the other inhabitants of her tribe, and even more considering that Liska was a slave, a person without any kind of rights, and that from her point of view, she was not worthy to be in her own presence.

But before both women could speak any further...

-"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGG!"-

The other panther-like warrior accompanying the one who Liska had killed, upon seeing his lifeless partner from afar, quickly ran, on his riding lizard, towards the young slave girl with all his might, aiming to avenge the death of his comrade-in-arms. At that moment, the foreigner was so enraged that he was ready to kill the young alien girl in any way he could, no matter what would happen to him.

-"OH NO!"- The slave exclaimed at the sight of the attacker, who wielded a sword, and she had very little time to react in time, as the enemy rushed on his lizard mount to attack her.

But when the Romalian marauder was only four steps away from Liska...

-"A... Akane...?"-

Akane Araki, the female soldier from Earth, immediately appeared on the scene, and she stepped between her feline friend and the foreigner on lizardback, and when the latter was also ready to attack the human, the African-Japanese woman quickly readied one of her katanas that she had at her waist.

Seeing that her weapon was poised, the woman quickly rushed like the wind straight towards the mounted attacker, who didn't seem to care that his enemy was carrying a bigger sword than the one he was holding, and before the Romalian panther man could do even do a thing...

-"HYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"-

...Akane, doing the loudest battle scream she could make at the time, jumped in a spectacular fashion towards the attacker, and the instant she unsheathed her sword mid-air...

-"(一刀両断！) I'LL CLEAVE YOU IN TWO!"-

SCHWING!

...afterwards, the female warrior fell to the ground on her own feet, and immediately stood up, and then, she made a sweeping motion with her sword to wipe away the blood that was still on the blade...

-"(斬り捨て御免。。。) Sorry for having to cut you down..."-

And at that moment, the only thing that remained of the invader was his waist with his legs, which were still on the stirrups of his saddle, while the rest of the corpse was already on the ground, his blood spilling abundantly. The riding lizard, horror-stricken to see that its master was dead, raced frantically out of the village, with the other half of its rider's corpse on its back.

Once the human was finally able to catch her breath, and seeing that no other enemies were lurking around her, Liska and Kebec, Akane hurried over to her slave friend, to double-check that she was safe.

-"Hey, Liska, are you alright, honey?"- The black woman asked to her feline friend.

The young alien maiden, at that moment and after seeing the slaughtered corpse of the invader, was in utter shock to see how that human, who up to that point Liska had not seen even a fifth of what Akane was capable of, was revealing her true colors. The fact that the samurai-like woman was able to kill a man twice her size with very little effort, and with a single swing of her sword to top it off, was something she had never seen in her life.

-"Yes, I am fine, Akane, but..."-

The Orange Tabby-like feline girl responded, still in shock after seeing they how her human friend killed that man in one single sword strike. After a short break, she was finally able to seek an explanation for what Akane had done.

-"Ho... how the hell could you cut that man in half with just a sword?"-

The female soldier tried to find a way to explain that to her friend, but at the same time, she didn't have the time or the mood for it...

-"I told you I'll explain later when we are out of this mess, for now we should focus on surviving first!"-

-"Well... I guess you're right about that, Akane..."- Liska replied with some concern, especially after seeing with her own eyes the true extent of Akane's skills as a samurai-like swordwoman.

But there was another person who demanded an explanation for what had happened, seeing that she had nearly been raped, and had it not been for the timely intervention of the slave, she probably would not have lived to tell the tale...

-"Hey, you two!"- Kebec loudly yelled to both women, especially to Liska. -"Can someone explain to me how you two can go around here fighting with weapons, huh?"-

Before Liska could embark on another quarrel with that free woman, Akane stepped in first, clearly upset to see that Kebec had not even bothered to thank them both for the fact that they had saved her life.

-"Look, you dumb-headed cat, we don't have time to discuss crap with you; you better go hide in your home or somewhere safe and leave the village defense work to us, and we can talk about it later!"- The human yelled at the bully. -"Got that clear?"-

-"Oh, yeah?"- The white-furred alien feline girl upped the ante on Akane. -"And who gave you the right to talk to me that way, you fat, dark-skinned, furless, foreign whore?"-

-"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU UNGRATEFUL, LITTLE...!"-

But before the discussion could escalate even further...

-"Akane, leave her alone for now; we have to fight the invaders first, and then we'll worry about her later!"- Liska interrupted Akane before she could resort to violence against Kebec at retaliation for racially insulting her.

And then, the slave girl addressed to the free woman, in a rather terse, but still more polite tone.

-"And you, Kebec..."- The feline girl gazed at her with a notorious annoyed face. -"You should clean yourself afterwards; you are so full of blood and dirt. That's all I'm going to tell you now."-

-"Eh... what?"-

Considering how much Liska hated Kebec, the latter hoped that the young slave would take the opportunity to insult or degrade her even more, bearing in mind what happened minutes ago with both warriors that Liska and Akane killed with their own hands.

But instead, the young blonde-haired maiden confined herself to recommending that she should clean herself up first before Kebec could continue with her tirade of insults directed at either Akane or her, which left Kebec somewhat astonished. And the slave was right to recommend this, for Kebec's clothes and fur were dirty with dirt from the ground and also with the blood of the warrior that Liska had killed while he was trying to attack the bully, and she immediately understood the context of those words:

The slave was basically telling her that she had no desire to talk to anyone, free person or not, who was dirty; that was basically a much more discreet insult than simply engaging in a childish name-calling game like the ones they had both engaged in in the past.

-"You've got a lot of nerve to say that to my face, slave..."- Kebec retorted noticeably upset, despite the fact that her counterpart was right.

Liska simply chose not to respond to the woman, most likely to avoid playing along. Next, Kebec turned to Akane, equally as annoyed.

-"And as for you, foreigner..."- The white-furred girl addressed to the human swordswoman. -"Because I just don't want to make matters worse, I just want to know what happened to my older sister."

In other moods, Akane would have had no desire to answer the bully, especially after being racially insulted by her. But, out of consideration for what happened to her sister Kayce, she was not that heartless not to say anything to her, and leave her uncertain about her sister's whereabouts, so, even being in a temper, the human responded to her.

-"If you want to know, she is alive, but she was harmed by one of those bandits..."- Akane explained in a rather terse way to Kebec -"I cannot give you any more details at the moment, but I can only tell you that she is not in mortal danger; that is all I can say for now..."-

Akane, for the same reasons she did with Mother Sanna, avoided telling Kebec that her older sister was raped in order to prevent her from being killed if she tried to enter her tent and and being targeted by the AEGIS protocol that Akane activated to protect her home. Seeing that the human was not going to say anything more, and given the prevailing events, the young maiden decided not to delve any further into the matter, and she simply opted to do what Liska had suggested she should follow, if only because there was no other choice.

-"All right, I'll go home, but you two better do something to protect this village, understand?"-

-"You don't need to remind us that, Kebec."- Liska responded in a very wry manner at her bully.

And so, Kebec ran and rushed into her teepee, where she remained for the duration of the attack on the village. Meanwhile, Liska and Akane left their common enemy behind, while they concentrated on trying to continue fighting to defend the village, and therefore, the tribe, from those foreign raiders.

-"Well, I must congratulate you for settling the mess with Kebec very diplomatically and not breaking that stupid girl's face first, honey."- The human congratulated her feline friend, while both girls were advancing to another direction.

-"Thank you, Akane..."- Liska replied with some flattery. -"Although to be frank... I was more worried that you were going to punch Kebec, not me."-

-"Uh..."- Akane had to admit that she was on the verge of actually doing that as her friend had told her. -"I guess you're right... to be honest."-

But before the two women could continue arguing, they noticed that there were other people they needed to help.

-"Hey, I think we should go help the chief right away; if something happens to him, I can't even imagine the mess we'll all be in."- Akane said at her friend, pointing out that particular situation in the case Chief Pownetkee were killed in combat.

-"You are right on that."- The slave girl agreed with her ally. -"Let's go!"-

September 19th, AD 2299/18th day of the Dry Moon, 1748 (summer season), Chief Pownetkee's tent (outside), 07:35 PM (dawn)

Before Liska and Akane went into action at that moment, we can see Chief Pownetkee and his Seneschal being surrounded by a large group of bandits, who were encircling the former's teepee. They knew that they had the leader of the village and of the tribe itself in their hands, and if they managed to capture them, or kill them for that matter, they would have achieved a psychological blow against the inhabitants of the Highland tribe.

But the chief and the holy man, even with everything against them, would not contemplate dying or being taken prisoner without a fight first. The former held his combat knife in his right hand, while in his other hand, he wielded the kunai that had been confiscated from Akane months ago when she was brought to the village; on the other hand, the Seneschal had only a knife, and although he was not a warrior, he also knew well how to defend himself should the need arise.

-"I don't want to be a pessimist, chief, but..."- The Seneschal said in low voice to his senior.

Immediately afterwards, the holy man knew that the chances they had of surviving the dilemma they were both in, after seeing how the foreign invaders were gradually closing in on the two of them, were pretty bleak.

-"...I doubt very much that we can make it out of this alive..."-

The chief could not help but agree with the holy man, after seeing how the invaders were not going to allow the two of them to escape from the scene where they were stood.

-"Certainly; looks like they have us in their clutches..."-

But at the same time, they knew they had no choice but to fight, and they would die rather than be captured alive by those ferocious raiders, who were were willing to stop at nothing to destroy the village, and capture all the villagers they could lay their hands on and sell them into slavery, and kill anyone who opposed them. Their people were counting on them, and the chief knew better than anyone else the value of their lives.

-"...but I'd rather die in my own village than have those bastards turn me or anyone else in this tribe into one of their slaves!"-

Seeing his chief's determination to defend the tribe until the bitter end, the Seneschal was also willing to do the same, for the same reasons, even though he knew that it was unlikely that both of them would survive such a battle.

-"I guess I have to agree with you, sir..."-

But when everything seemed to be against them, and before the two of them could start fighting against the surrounding invaders, who were mounted on their lizards...

-"HYAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"-

SCHWING!

The first thing the chief and the holy man saw before doing anything, to the astonishment of both, was how one of the enemy warriors was decapitated in a sudden and brutal manner, as if a lightning bolt had fallen on his head by chance and without warning.

And at that instant, the two of them saw what appeared to be a dark-skinned person standing in front of them, brandishing a katana, and who was a woman known to everyone in the tribe...

-"(大丈夫ですか、酋長、呪術師さま？) Are you alright, chief, Seneschal?"-

Akane asked both men in Japanese, taking Liska's suggestion about using that language to talk to each other to keep the raiders from figuring out their plans. Meanwhile, the young slave girl rushed to join Chief Pownetkee and the Seneschal as quickly as she could, taking advantage of the confusion caused by the death of that Romalian warrior, while the deceased's other comrades tried to find out what had happened.

Once the chief managed to cope with his surprise after seeing how Akane, in a stunning leap, managed to decapitate one of the riders with her sword, and upon hearing that the human was speaking to him in her language, quickly and without further explanation, he understood what the female soldier from Earth had in mind when she used Japanese to communicate with him, since he also spoke that language.

But even so, he was equally surprised to see both women, whom he did not think were capable to fight, were engaging in combat against the aggressors by their own means, especially Akane, who was carrying a katana, which implied many things that would be explained later.

-"(あ・・・明音くん、リスカくん。) A... Akane-kun, Liska-kun."- The feline chief responded in Japanese. -"(なぜお前たちを武器を使うのか？) Why are you two using weapons?"-

-"(それについては後ほど説明しますよ, 酋長 。) We will explain that later, chief."- Liska replied in the same language, following her own idea. -"(今、あたしたちはこの戦いを生き延びる方法を見つけなければなりません。) Now we have to find a way to make it out of this alive."-

-"(わかった。) Understood."-

On the other hand, the Seneschal did not find it very comfortable to have his leader and the others speak "Hinowan" in front of him, as he did not speak or understand that language.

-"Excuse me, but I would welcome a way for me to understand what the three of you are talking about, especially under these circumstances."- The holy man said in a quite sarcastic way on his own tongue.

-"Just stay back unless they attack you, sir, and leave the tail-kicking business to us!"- Akane, likewise, replied in the local language to the other man, while she was poised to do battle at any moment.

-"All right, I understood that, Akane."- The holy man retorted at the human samurai-like woman.

And as for their enemies, once the invading warriors had realized that one of their own had been suddenly killed by Akane, they quickly snapped out of their confusion and pointed their weapons at the four people they were dealing with: Liska, Akane, Chief Pownetkee, and the Seneschal. It could be seen that the people against whom they would face, especially the women, were not exactly normal people, and more in the case of the human, for obvious reasons.

And regarding Akane, she was the person that the raiders were specifically keen on capturing her alive, because being human, she would be worth a lot as an exotic slave, something that they quickly noticed when the raiders saw her plainly.

-"(Illa debet esse fusco nigra mulier sine pilum praefectus erat loquitur!) She must be the dark-skinned furless woman the commander was talking about!"- One of the foreigners said aloud, upon seeing Akane.

-"(Memento quod dux dixit! Ipse vult, quod mulier vivit!) Remember what the leader said! He wants that woman alive!"- Another warrior said in Romalian, this time pointing his weapon at the human.

The fact that the foreign warriors were eyeing the female soldier shrewdly was not going unnoticed by the human's feline hosts, who knew that their enemies were interested in capturing her and that it was quite possible that she was the reason why they were attacking their village.

-"(ねえ、明音さん、あの盗賊団はあなたに興味があるようですよ。) Hey, Akane-san, I think those bandits are interested in you, from what I'm seeing."- Liska said to her human friend, noticing the bandits' interest in her.

The human quickly assessed the situation around her, and indeed, the raiders were targeting her, a fact that was not to her liking in the least.

-"(わかったよ、リスカちゃん。) Yes, I know that, Liska-chan,"- The African-Japanese soldier said. -"(そして、そんな風に自分が注目されるのが嫌なんだよ。) And I hate when I'm getting the spotlight like that."-

-"(で、どうするつもりなんですか？) And what do you plan to do?"- The slave asked.

At that moment, Akane, who had her other backup katana on the left side of her waist, in a quick and unexpected movement...

-"(これ。) Take this."-

...handed that Japanese blade to Liska, who, for obvious reasons, was bewildered to see that her human friend had passed that exotic weapon to her, despite the fact that the feline slave had never used a sword in her life, least of all a katana.

-"(なぜあなたはあたしにもう一本の剣をくれるのですか、明音さん？) Why are you giving me your other sword, Akane-san?"-

-"(当たり前じゃない？何とかしてあいつらと戦うのを手伝ってくれ 今なら君しかいない！) Isn't that obvious? I need you to help me fight these bastards somehow, and you're the only person I think can help me now!"-

-"(でも、あたしは今まで一度も剣を使ったことがありませんよ、明音さん！) But I have never used a sword in my life, Akane-san!"-

-"(マチェットなどを使ったことが？) Have you ever used a machete before?"- Akane asked her alien ally.

-"(えーっと。。。はい。。。子供の頃、両親の農場を手伝わされていた時です。) Well... yes... when I was a child when I had to help my parents to farm."- Liska replied with some trepidation.

-"(刀の使い方も似ているが、より洗練されている。ただ、刀を持つ位置が違うだけだ。) Using a katana is something similar, only more sophisticated, in a nutshell; the only thing different is the way you hold the sword."- The human Space Ranger explained the basics about fighting with swords to the feline girl. -"(とりあえず、あたしがどうするか見てよ。) For now, just see how I do it."-

Immediately after, Akane unsheathed her own sword, and took up a fighting stance, while keeping a safe distance from her enemies, and without breaking away from Liska and her other feline allies at the same time.

Seeing how her human friend did it, the young slave also unsheathed the katana that Akane had given her, and she also did the same combat pose of her comrade-in-arms. There was only one small problem: at that moment Liska was visibly stressed, for she had never used a sword in her life, let alone a katana, and if that wasn't enough of a problem for her, there was also the fact that Japanese weapon was made for humans in mind, and she was having trouble holding the handle of the sword (or tsuka) properly.

But for the young feline girl, that was the least of it, as she was willing to fight by Akane's side to defend the village, and she would have chosen to die in combat trying to fight the invaders that were trying to destroy it, than to stand by and do nothing and end up dead in the meanwhile.

Meanwhile, the invaders were approaching more dangerously towards the four characters, without losing sight of Akane in mind, who was their main target. They waited for the right opportunity to attack, even though they knew that the four of them were armed, and two of them, Liska and Akane, wielded swords, which gave the defenders a certain advantage. However, the attackers outnumbered the natives, so it was only a matter of time before they launched their charge at them.

Akane, who was evaluating her combat scenario and that of her other companions, at that moment she thought up an idea in order to end both that crisis and the enemies that were attacking the village at once, but for that she needed the help of her friend, who did not know how to use a sword, but at that moment she was her only hope to escape alive from that battle.

And for her, she had to use the shock effect in her favor and that of her allies. But before Akane could proceed at once...

-"Uh?"-

The human noticed that the aggressors were making body signals that she did not fully understand, for Akane did not yet fully grasp the body language of the feline inhabitants from the planet she lived on. The only thing she observed was how those beings began to make body gestures with their ears and tails to carry out and give signals in an effective way without the need to say them verbally. This put the foreigner from Earth at a severe handicap, for she could neither do the same as her enemies, nor could she understand its meaning.

But one thing was certain: The invaders were beginning to draw dangerously close toward her and her friends, and Akane had no way of forecasting their actions.

-"Shit, if I could just read the body language of these damned animals, I could easily figure out their actions; they're using their tails and ears to send signals to each other and I have no fucking idea what that means... I have to think of something to work my ass out of this mess before I end up as a slave to these cats... or end up like Noguchi..."- The human analyzed the current situation in her own mind.

But Akane also quickly realized that, just as she couldn't read the aliens' body language, they couldn't read human body language either, so she knew she could still use the element of surprise to her benefit... as long as she had someone else who could help her.

-"(明音さん。。。) Akane-san..."- Liska said to her human comrade, who was behind her.

-"(なんだよ、リスカちゃん？) What do you want now, Liska-chan?"- Akane retorted in a rude way in Japanese, given their current dilemma both girls were knee-deep in, while still keeping a cold expression painted in her face.

-"(奴らと戦うために何か考えていることはありますか？) Do you have any ideas in mind to fight them?"-

Akane, after a very brief pause of a few seconds, quickly outlined to the slave girl what her plan was.

-"(あたしが合図をしたら、君とあたしは全力であいつらを攻撃するんだ。全力で走って、邪魔する奴にはその剣を使うのをやめないでくれ。) When I give you the signal, you and I will attack those bastards as quickly as we can. Make sure you run like hell, and don't stop using that sword against whoever stands in your way."- Akane explained her idea, in a nutshell. -"(いいな？) Do you understand?"-

-"(わかりました、明音さん。) Understood, Akane-san."- The alien slave girl replied at the black woman.

When Akane saw that the Romalian warriors had no intention on wasting any more time, and they began their offensive on the four characters, starting with Akane and Liska, the human had no other choice but to react at once.

Then, Akane tapped Liska's ankle with her own to let her know it was time to strike...

-"(さあ、いけ！) GO!"-

Swiftly, both women, heading in separate ways, but not too far from each other, charged at their adversaries, as fast as a flash of lightning. Such was their speed, that none of the attackers could figure out where they were...

-"(Unde illi duo mulieres abiit, eh?) Where did those two women went, huh?"- The foreign raiders asked themselves when they could not longer spot the two women they had in front of them seconds before.

...except at the moment when Akane and Liska were ready to pounce on them.

The first to begin was the human woman, who, quickly unsheathing her sword at that instant, brutally decapitated the riding lizard of the first bandit she had in front of her, without the latter being able to foresee where she was. That man, a black panther-like being, fell hard to the ground, and before he could even use his weapon to defend himself, Akane reached him first and gutted him like a fish with her katana.

-"One down!"- Akane said.

On the other hand, the young slave, who had no experience in using a sword like Akane, seeing how her friend had killed that warrior, but lacking the necessary fighting skills, decided to go for broke and attack the most vulnerable points of another warrior who was closing in on her. In this case, Liska quickly dashed towards the riding lizard on which her enemy was astride, and, in a surprise move, the young alien slid to the ground, and, with an precise stroke with her blade, she cut off the animal's legs.

Obviously, as in Akane's case, the rider fell to the ground, but unlike the previous case, the warrior, a cheetah-like man, jumped up from the ground as soon as he could, enraged to see how Liska had managed to kill his mount with her sword.

-"(Eris paenitet ad hoc, vos parum meretrix!) You'll be sorry for this, you little whore!"-

The Romalian marauder, screaming what sounded more like a roar, and armed with a war mace, hurled himself at Liska, in order to crush her head with one blow.

But the young maiden, reading her enemy's motions, thanks to the fact that he was carrying a very heavy weapon, pointed her sword directly at her opponent's arm, and with a firm slash, she lopped off his arm with a single stroke...

-"GYAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGG!"-

The bandit cried out in horror as his arm, which bore his mace, was sliced off in a single blow by the young woman armed with a katana, while he desperately tried to find a way to stop the bleeding that poured from what was left of his arm. But his pain was short-lived...

...because at that instant, Liska, making a turn with her right leg and putting all her strength into it, lashed her sword against the foreigner's neck, dramatically beheading him.

Normally, anyone who had beheaded someone else in the same circumstances would have been horrified by what they had done, but the young slave had no time to worry about such a thing in such a critical situation, knowing that it was her life and the lives of her loved ones that were in danger.

Still, that didn't stop Liska from breathing heavily after having killed the man who was much bigger than her in that way, and because of the messy way the young girl had decapitated him, her clothes and fur were soaked in blood, as well as her blade.

Akane, who was still trying to catch her breath after killing that rider, watched with a mixture of surprise, shock and disbelief as that young maiden, who had never fought before in her short life, had pulled off something that even she would probably struggle to do in the same quandary, even if the African-Japanese woman had been specifically trained to fight against several enemies at the same time.

-"(おい、どこでそんな戦い方を覚えたんだ、お前？) Hey, where did you learn to fight like that, honey?"- Akane said to Liska in Japanese with some sense of sarcasm, after watching how her feline friend managed such a feat.

After regaining her wind, the slave was finally able to answer her human friend.

-"(わ・・・わかりませんよ、明音さん。) I... I don't really know, Akane-san."- The ginger-furred girl replied, still very agitated after what she did a few seconds ago.

-"(少なくとも、君を正直なところあたしよりはうまくやったと思うよ。) At least you did better than me, to be honest."- The human smiled candidly at the slave, seeing that she too knew a thing or two about how to swordfight quite as well.

-"(ありがとうございます。) Thank you very much."- Liska replied at Akane, seeing that the human was complimented her for her fighting skills.

But before both women could continue talking, they noticed that the situation took a very abrupt twist: When the other Romalian warriors saw what Liska and Akane were able to do, having killed two of their own, they no longer simply played with their victims, and it was clear that they were really going to fight back for real.

At that moment, Akane quickly noticed that all the invaders who were still alive up to that point had gathered, thanks to the fact that their leader, Arn, had given orders in his own language, in addition to others made using body language, to join his side...

-"(Dominus, his duabus mulieribus, praesertim fusco nigra unum, habent multos occidit ex nostris hominibus!) Commander, these two women, especially the dark skinned one, have killed many of our men!"- One of the henchmen under the command of the Romalian commander explained to him in his language, in a very concerned way, the events up to that point concerning their enemies, especially the human woman and her friend, the slave girl. -"(Quid vos monere nos ad haec mulieres?) What do you advise us to do with these women?"-

The commander, seeing how those seemingly harmless two women turned out to be much more dangerous than he expected, was visibly angry and displeased to see that his plans were not panning out the way he had intended and that those two people, especially Akane, were not normal women in the least, due to their sword fighting skills.

And this was doubly so in the case of the human, for Arn knew that she, being an ally of the late Keisuke Noguchi, who was mortally wounded in an attempt to capture him months ago, should know how to fight. To that alien's misfortune, what he did not know at that point was that Akane, being the superior officer of Pvt. Noguchi, knew how to defend herself much better than her subordinate could have done, not to mention Sgt. Araki's skills with the katana, due to her training in Japanese military arts at one of Japan's oldest martial arts schools.

And at that instant, the cougar man, drawing his sword, pointed with it at the two women, and gave an order in a loud voice to his men, with no more time to lose.

-"(Nos omnes impetus eodem tempore!) We will all attack them at the same time!"- The leader yelled at his remaining men. -"(Volo, quod fusco nigra femina vivit, et ego non curo, quid nobis faciendum sit, ut mea in manibus eius!) I want to see that dark-skinned woman alive, and I don't care what we have to do to get her in my hands!"-

-"(Et quid faciemus, cum alia flava flavaque puella, Dominus?) And what do we do with the other blonde-haired girl, Commander?"- The underling asked, regarding Liska, Akane's ally.

-"(Ego non curo! Tolle eam vivere quoque, et si non potest, occidere eam si vis!) I don't care! Take her alive too, and if that's not possible, kill her if you want to!"- Arn angrily gave his orders at his men. -"(Et quod mirum mulier melius non mori, quia, si fecerit, ego occidere nothus, qui facit! Quod patet?) And that strange woman better not die, because if she does, I'll kill the bastard who did it!Is that clear?"-

-"(SIC, DOMINE!) YES, SIR!"-

Seeing that all the foreign warriors who were storming the village were ready to fight the four of them at the same time, especially against Liska and Akane, the human couldn't help but feel that things were going to turn ugly at that instant, something she made her feline friend notice.

-"Damn! If I came out of this alive, and I had to say I had to emulate Toshiro Mifune, no one would believe me."-

Akane, with her typical style of snark, could not help but mention the famous 20th century Japanese film actor, famous for having participated in samurai movies, especially in "The Seven Samurai", where the aforementioned Mifune took part, and especially his character, Kikuchiyo, was one of the members of the famous septet that fought in the final battle of that film.

Obviously, Liska had no idea what Akane was referring to when she made that cinematic allusion.

-"And who is Toshiro Mifune, Akane?"-

The African-Japanese woman realized that her alien friend did not understand the reference to the actor and its context...

-"I'll explain later if we get out of this alive."- Akane retorted. -"Because it looks like they are now going to fight for real."-

At that moment, the outlaws began to move closer to the protagonists, and the human knew that she and Liska were at a severe disadvantage in numbers against so many enemies coming after them, so Akane had to find a solution at once.

And at that moment, Akane addressed Chief Pownetkee and the Seneschal, who were standing behind them.

-"Chief, Seneschal!"- The human yelled at her elders.

-"What's wrong, Akane?"- The feline chief was the first on respond.

Immediately afterwards, Akane explained her concerns about the current predicament, this time in Japanese.

-"(盗賊は皆私たちと戦うようで、もうふざけることはないでしょう。) It seems that all the bandits are going to fight against us, and they are not going to mess around any longer."-

The chief quickly realized that the human was right, and that all the surviving warriors were poised to launch an attack on them, in order to end the fight at once and capture Akane, or kill all the tribe's inhabitants at once.

-"(それは当たり前のことだぞ、明音くん。) That's more than obvious, Akane-kun."- Pownetkee replied at the black woman. -"(お前かこの賊に対処するアイデアはあるのか？) Do you have any ideas in mind to deal with them?"-

The human took out from her belt two tantou knives...

-"Please take this, Seneschal..."-

...then she handed one of them to the Seneschal...

-"What is this, Akane?"- The feline holy man asked to the human soldier about the Japanese blade Akane gave to him.

-"It is a tantou, a combat knife used primarily as a backup weapon. You're going to need it right now."-

-"Oh, I see."- The shaman said. -"Thank you, Akane dear."-

-"You are welcome, sir."- Akane replied. -"And now..."-

...the woman gave her remaining knife to Liska...

-"...you're going to need this too, sweetie."-

The slave was surprised that her friend had provided her with another weapon, aside from the katana that Akane had previously given her.

-"Why are you giving me another blade, Akane? I think the sword you gave me is more than enough."- Liska asked to her human friend.

-"Considering that we are going to be going up against many people at once, you are going to need all the weapons you have on hand, dear."-

And seeing that the warriors were creeping dangerously close to her, Akane, the tribal chief and the Seneschal, she couldn't agree more with that...

-"I guess you are right with that..."-

The men under the command of Commander Arn were only two steps away from the quartet, this time willing to go against them on foot instead of riding their riding lizards, most likely to prevent their animals from being killed by L and Akane, who were the only people who used swords, and who possibly had the ability to kill their beasts if they had tried to do so mounted on them.

Besides, since they had a numerical edge, they assumed that it would not be so complicated to overpower them if they all charged at them simultaneously, and after that, dealing with the rest of the villagers would be a piece of cake...

-"(来たよ。) Here they come."- Akane said at her feline allies in Japanese. -"(あの奴たちかちょっとしたトリックで混乱させるから、君たちが見ても怖がらないでね。) I'm going to use a little trick to confuse them, so don't be scared when you see it."-

-"(どんなトリックけをするんですか、明音さん？) What kind of trick are you going to use, Akane-san?"- Liska asked with some trepidation at her human ally.

-"(ちょっと待っててね。) Just you wait and see."-

And when the raiders were poised to deliver their first blow...

...At that moment, Akane Araki, suddenly and without warning her companions, took out of her belt a tube, which turned out to be a smoke grenade, and quickly, the human pulled the pin on the pyrotechnic device and threw it to the ground, just a step and a half away from where the Romalian invaders were. Soon after, a thick, dense red smoke rose from the grenade, which caused confusion in both the natives and the invaders, who had never seen anything like it before in their lives.

-"cough, cough, (Quid est quod fumus?!) What is this smoke?!"- The foreigners coughed and cried out in shock at the sight of the dense red smoke coming from the grenade thrown by the human.

And then...

-"(今だ！) NOW!"-

And taking advantage of the confusion caused by the smoke screen, and knowing immediately what was Akane's plan that she had in mind, the other characters raced in the direction of the smoke, and, together with the female soldier from Earth, they all began to battle against the aggressors.

The first to start fighting was Akane, who quickly drew her katana, and the first warrior she had in her sights, before he could react to the Space Ranger's proximity, was decapitated with a single sword stroke. Then, another warrior behind him, who tried to attack the human with a battle axe, only saw how Akane evaded his blow, and then she, seizing that the invader had lowered his guard, swung her Japanese sword to cut off one of his arms, causing the man to bleed to death.

A third warrior, who dashed against the soldier after seeing his dead comrades, attempted to use a long spear, hoping to impale the black woman through the torso, but this time, the brunette managed to dodge it without any issues, and, as soon as the spear was out of harm's way, she raised her sword, putting the handle to the side of her head, aiming at where the man' s heart would be, and plunged it downwards, piercing him through the middle. He gurgled horribly for a few seconds, before he finally died, falling to the ground like a stone, his life blood spilling over.

-"Man, I never imagined that the Gatotsu actually works in real life!"- Akane was surprised to herself, seeing that she, perhaps in an act of desperation, used Hajime Saito's, Kenshin Himura's archenemy, famous sword-thrusting attack from the 20th century manga, Rurouni Kenshin, to kill that alien warrior.

But it was still too early to celebrate for her, as the remaining warriors were frantically trying to get at her at any cost, especially after watching how that woman proved to be more powerful than the Romalians had anticipated.

-"(Omnibus, ignorare quod mulier nunc et intendi in occidere castellum principes, eius sanctus homo et quod puella in gladio!) Everyone, ignore that woman right now and concentrate on killing the village chief, his holy man and that girl with the sword!"- Arn roared in rage at his men, after he saw how Akane managed to kill three of them by her sword.

Akane was horrified as the other warriors swarmed against Liska, Pownetkee, and the Seneschal, possibly because they must have regarded them as easy and weak targets, while wilfully avoiding Akane, causing the latter to warn the three of them in Japanese.

-"(リスカちゃん、酋長、呪術師さま、危ない！) Liska-chan, Chief, Seneschal, LOOK OUT!"-

The human rushed forward as fast as she could to help her alien friends, being ready to fight, but...

-(Non puto ego te, mulier!) Don't think I'll let you, woman!

...before the African-Japanese soldier could do anything else, Arn himself stepped between her and his men who were trying to finish off the human's allies. The leader unsheathed his sword and was quickly ready to fight the human. It was evident that Arn, contrary to what anyone would think in such situation, was more than willing to face the foreigner in person, and personally make sure that he could take the glory of defeating her in a sword duel.

Akane quickly noticed that the humanoid feline resembling a mountain lion was the leader of the bandits attacking the village. Unfortunately, she did not have time to think about what that meant in context, because for her, that man was only a hindrance in her way to help her friends.

-"(邪魔なんだよ、このくそねこやろうが！) GET OUT OF MY WAY, YOU PIECE OF FELINE SHIT!"- The katana-wielding woman yelled in her language to Arn.

And in that instant, both characters crossed swords violently, while the bandit leader tried not only to prevent Akane from helping his friends, but also to try to capture the human with his own hands.

But the human, who herself had been trained for such a circumstance, valiantly defended herself from the attacks of that fierce alien warrior, who wielded what at first glance appeared to be a sword. Akane had a serious disadvantage that she quickly found out when she saw that man, however: Not only Arn was somewhat bigger and stronger than her, but, being a feline, he moved much faster than a human, which made it very difficult for her to match his actions.

Besides that, Arn had years of experience, first as an ex-Romalian soldier and then as a bandit, while Akane, despite her martial arts and military training, had never engaged in a life-and-death duel against another person because she came from a society where the last war against other human beings was centuries ago, and her only previous experience using combat arts was fighting bullies, criminals and the occasional person who had tried to rape her, her late friend Kaguya or her loved ones. That is why Akane, although her skills were quite impressive, struggled against him with even a fraction of their strength, as her own body wasn't able to cope.

And that was very evident from the start, as Arn was the first to charge at Akane, first by clashing swords with her, and in a surprise attack...

-"RAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR!"-

...the warrior used his claws in a chance stroke to slash the human swordswoman's left arm.

Fortunately, the wound was not critical, as the human quickly pulled away in time to keep the wound from being more serious and tearing her skin, or even her entire arm, as the Romalian struck an area of her arm that was not covered by her armor. Because of that, her arm began to bleed profusely as a result of that swipe; the Space Ranger knew that she had to act if she wanted to make it through that fight against that man.

But her wound was the least important thing in that situation, for the bandit leader quickly charged towards Akane to strike back, seizing advantage of the fact that the human woman had been wounded in her arm, and therefore did not have the strength to fight back...

-"UGH!"-

...and indeed, Akane, who used her sword to repel the next blow, could not wield her weapon properly due to the intense pain she suffered, which caused that, at the moment Arn hit the human's katana near her guard (tsuba), the black woman dropped her weapon due to the violent impact of Arn's sword against hers, rendering the human with very few weapons with which to defend herself.

-"(くそ！) SHIT!"-

The foreign warrior, realizing that the human seemed helpless, quickly threw himself upon her without a second thought, in order to capture her with his own hands.

What the alien didn't know was that Akane had another ace up her sleeve to defend herself against him...

-"(これでもくらえ！) SUCK ON THIS!"-

The female soldier, possibly in a sudden act of being unable to quickly draw a deadly weapon with which to defend herself, pulled another tube from her belt. That tube contained nothing less than mace, which, while already was potentially effective against humans, was even more insidious against other living beings, including humanoid alien felines. Straight after, when Arn was only a step away from Akane, she sprayed the gas in his face.

-"BUAAHGGGGGG!"-

The man, who had never in his life experienced anything as intense as mace, also known as tear gas, fell to the ground screaming in pain. His eyes and tongue felt like they were on fire due to the intense effect of that chemical substance that the human sprayed in his face, which gave the woman, taking advantage of the fact that the bandit leader was incapacitated, the opportunity to retrieve her sword, which was a step behind her.

And while this was happening on Akane's side, Liska, along with the tribal chief and the Seneschal, had to face off against the horde of bandits approaching them. This was especially dangerous for the young slave, because, unlike her human friend, she did not have enough experience to fight against many opponents at once.

But since Akane could not help them for the time being, both the young maiden and her superiors had no choice but to fight on their own.

-"All right, Liska, take a deep breath and remember what Akane told you about how to use this sword, and don't lose sight of your opponents..."- The alien girl said to herself as a mantra, while she looked at the katana that Akane had lent her, and without losing sight of her enemies that were creeping dangerously close to her.

And seeing that their enemies were just a step away, the three characters quickly and without warning sprang into action.

Liska knew that she did not have the same dexterity that Akane had to use a sword with the same grace and proficiency as the human, so the young feline maiden learned that the best way to deal with her opponents was to use her natural speed to evade their attacks, while she counterattacked by striking at their weakest points when her enemies let their guard down. This was important, as she knew that she could not employ powerful strikes as Akane did, and Liska knew that every blow she launched against her opponents had to count, otherwise, she would not live for a second chance.

And so, the young slave girl armed with a katana began her attack, first sliding on the ground near her first opponent, leaving him surprised and off guard, and before he could do something else, Liska reacted with a powerful sword swing that sheared off the Romalian warrior's two legs, leaving him to bleed to death all over the ground.

Another Romalian bandit, who was trying to attack the slave from behind, saw his entrails violently burst out of his body when Liska, using the tantou knife that Akane had also given her, quickly struck back by slicing open the man's abdomen as if it were a bag of water the second she saw him coming up behind her.

And in this way, the slave fought against all those bandits like an enraged beast, to such a degree that in each sword stroke that the ginger-furred girl executed against her enemies, arms, legs, tails, and even heads flew off at every instant, leaving the ground around the 18 years-old girl drenched in blood.

On the other hand, both the chief and the Seneschal were also fighting against the raiders alongside the young maiden, both of them being hardened warriors who had fought in numerous battles during their youth. But despite their expertise, nothing they knew about hand-to-hand combat had prepared them to face several enemies at the same time and at very close range.

And if that wasn't bad enough, many of those bandits used long weapons, such as swords or spears, while both men only carried knives, with Chief Pownetkee using a knife in tandem with the kunai confiscated from Akane, and the Seneschal using his combat knife in combination with the Japanese tantou knife that the said Akane had lent him.

Even with everything stacked against them, both warriors did not hesitate to fight their aggressors, even if it was just to distract them long enough for Liska to strike them from behind or to take advantage of the fact that they were engaged with both of them and then hit them back.

And once Akane had managed to temporarily neutralize Commander Arn seconds earlier, she quickly jumped back into the fray; once she could see what had happened during her brief standoff with the bandit leader, she was appalled to see how her alien friend, despite not being a natural warrior, had managed, with very little help, to kill several combatants, many of them larger than both women, on her own, leaving a battlefield littered with maimed corpses strewn all over the place.

-"Akane, are you alright?"- Liska asked to her human ally, happy to see that her friend was fine, even if she noticed that Akane had a bruise on her arm.

-"Yeah, I'm more or less fine, sweetie, but..."-

The female Space Ranger from Japan tried to dissimulate the fact that there were several corpses scattered around her, and, despite her military training, Akane could not help but feel sickened to see mutilated corpses, due to her own background of coming from a more peaceful culture than that of the inhabitants of that unknown planet.

-"...I don't think I would ever become accustomed to see dead bodies, to be honest."- The human replied, while doing her best to turning her eyes away from the marred corpses of the warriors her feline friend killed minutes ago.

-"Me neither,"- The slave girl agreed with Akane. -"but I guess we can both get used to that now."-

-"That was sarcasm, right?"-

-"Well, take it any way you want; we still have a job to do, Akane."-

-"I suppose you're very right on that, dear."-

Akane nodded, while she rolled her eyes; it didn't really matter what kind of people those warriors were, they were all of them dead. All that mattered was whether they could make it out alive in one piece.

As for the latter, there were still a number of enemy warriors still lurking around the four characters, as they tried to find a way to strike back, especially as they saw several of their comrades-in-arms lying dead at the hands of Akane, Liska or both.

But now that Akane rejoined the fray, and when the other Romalian outlaws started their attack once again, it became more than evident that, while Liska was already dangerous with a katana, teaming up with Akane Araki made the two women a practically invincible combination, for every warrior who tried to engage them fell before the power of their swords, turning what, in another opportunity would have been a massacre against the natives, into the same situation, but this time against the invaders themselves.

But when the fight against the invaders seemed to be going in favor of the natives of the Highland tribe...

-"MRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"-

Liska felt that someone had taken her by surprise and tightly gripped her, causing her to drop her sword on the spot and being unable to defend herself or fight back in any way.

When she could see who it was that was holding her against her will, the slave realized that a man, a humanoid panther with black fur, and who was taller and more muscular than her, quickly placed a knife to her neck, with the intention of slitting her throat at any moment.

-"(Vos melius non movere, aut ego interficiam faucibus, puella!) You better not move, or I will cut your throat, little girl!"-

-"SOMEBODY HELP ME!"-

Akane, hearing the screams of her alien friend, realized that Liska was in trouble as she was captured by that massive, murderous-looking warrior, leaving the human in shock.

-"Oh no, Liska!"- Akane cursed as loud as she could.

To the human's misfortune, she was in a very difficult predicament that Akane could not solve by using her sword: If she went to charge headlong at the man without a second thought, he would most likely slit the young slave's throat, and if she did nothing, it was certain that he and the other invaders would use Liska, either as a shield to cover a possible retreat, or as a bargaining chip in exchange for Akane or some request to the tribe that would be detrimental to the tribe.

And the human knew that none of those possibilities were even in the cards, either for the tribe or for herself. And above all, Akane was not going to let those bandits harm her best friend, even as it would cost her her own life.

-"If you don't let that girl go, you bastard, I swear I'LL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF WITH MY BARE HANDS!"-

Obviously, the warrior did not seem to have been intimidated by the threat made by the human, while he was ready to kill or kidnap the young alien girl, if that would be helpful for him to escape from the village in one piece.

In that critical situation, Akane had very few options in mind, which went through her mind in a matter of seconds, in order to free her friend without any major problem and to finish with that bandit at once, while she watched, completely helpless, as Liska tried by all means to break free from the hands of that foreign warrior.

-"Okay, Akane, attacking this asshole straight away would probably cause him to behead Liska, and I don't think throwing a kunai at him would help much, since his body could withstand such an attack, and using tear gas would be dangerous for her as well, nor would I be able to use a smoke grenade, since that cat would easily know my intentions..."-

At that point, Akane recalled that she had a long-range weapon at hand that she could use against the Romalian warrior, but she knew that the risks of using it were too great, something that quickly flashed into her mind at that instant.

-"I have never used this weapon against a living being in my life, and I only hope that the shrapnel from these bullets is not going to hurt her. Besides, I only have one chance; if I miss, she will surely die..."-

And after taking a close look at the bandit who had Liska in his possession, while he tried to flee the battlefield with his hostage, Akane realized that the only way for her plan to succeed was for her friend to know what she had to do to keep her from being seriously injured or killed in the process.

-"(頭を下げろ！) GET YOUR HEAD DOWN!"- Akane yelled at Liska in Japanese, hoping that the young maiden knew what the human wanted her to do immediately.

-"(な。。。なに？) WHA... WHAT?"-

-"(頭を下げろと言ったんだよ!) I SAID GET YOUR HEAD DOWN!"- The human repeated her order at the feline girl.

Without questioning her friend's request, Liska quickly did as Akane asked and she lowered her head on the spot, leaving the foreign bandit's head free for the human to attack.

And in a matter of less than a split second, the human drew from her holster at her waist the only firearm she had on hand, a .44 caliber Taurus Raging Bull Model 444 revolver. That gun was the only weapon she had with her that was powerful enough to almost instantly kill living beings larger and more dangerous than a human, and she was willing to use it against that man.

And immediately afterwards, Akane pulled the trigger and opened fire on the enemy humanoid feline.

-"UGGGHHH!"-

What then happened was something that Akane, despite being trained for it, left her noticeably shocked, for the impact of that RIP-type ammunition on that man's head, far from being simply a fatal headshot, caused half the head of that alien being to explode as if it were a balloon filled with water.

Immediately after, Liska was able to free herself from the grip of the warrior who was attempting to escape with her as a hostage, falling abruptly to the ground. For that young feline woman, the shot of that gun had sounded like a lightning that had fallen close to her, and then she felt how the blood and gray matter of the man who had died at the hands of Akane's gun had splashed behind her head.

But she didn't have time to worry about all that, because Liska was more anxious to know that she was unharmed, something that also satisfied the human, who quickly ran to see if her alien friend was all right, after Akane had just shot her captor in the head.

-"Hey, are you alright, sweetie?!"- Akane said to her friend, as she hugged him tenderly, and making sure she hadn't been hurt after she blew the brains out of the man who grabbed her.

After catching her breath, and without trying to see what had happened to her captor, the young slave responded to her human friend, still somewhat aghast after what had passed a few seconds ago.

-"Yes... I'm fine, Akane... but..."-

Liska looked back, as she saw the warrior's lifeless corpse, but without seeing his face, which was a good thing for her, as she would probably have reacted negatively to seeing that half of the humanoid feline's head had basically exploded behind her.

-"...what did you do to kill that man?"- The orange tabby girl asked to Akane. -"And why did I hear like a lightning strike near me?"-

The African-Japanese woman, who had neither the time to explain the details of the weapon she used to kill the bandit, nor the way to do it in the prevailing scenario, simply replied with the following.

-"I'll explain in more detail later, but I can tell you the following, honey..."-

Akane looked at her still-smoking revolver, and then she glanced at the corpse of the Romalian warrior she had killed, but she tried not to see what was left of his head; even she was not keen on seeing the mutilated corpse of someone she had just slain, even though she had been trained to deal with a situation of that nature.

The fact that she came from a more tranquil background had shaped her to be more empathetic towards her enemies, and the fact that she felt disgust at having to be forced to kill people in self-defense showed that, even though she was a soldier, she had her own limits.

-"...I don't think I'll ever be used to having to blow other people's brains out like this."-

Liska shared her human ally's opinion and disgust after giving a brief look at that corpse as well...

-"Neither do I, Akane..."-

And without wasting any more time the young slave retrieved her sword that was on the ground, knowing that there were still several enemies to wipe out, who were still trying to attack the two women, as well as the chief and the Seneschal.

-"We still have a lot of work to do, Akane; there are still many bandits lurking around here and we have to keep fighting."- The feline girl said at the black woman, who was also ready to fight as well.

-"You are absolutely right, let's go!"-

And immediately thereafter, Liska Tas-so-wen and Akane Araki resumed their battle after rejoining both men, as the four of them fought fiercely against the Romalian invaders who were still alive. The combined forces of those two brave women, who were willing to die fighting to defend their adopted home, managed to turn the tide of the battle, and within minutes, that battlefield was littered with the slaughtered corpses of all the foreigners who had sought to both destroy the Highland tribe and enslave Akane and her feline hosts.

All of them were already dead, except one person: their leader, Commander Arn.

Arn, who had just recovered after the human of African origin had sprayed him in the face with tear gas, immediately saw that all his men were dead, leaving him as the only survivor of his party. This did not go unnoticed by Akane and her other fellow combatants, who now had the enemy leader in their grasp.

At this, Akane unsheathed her katana, which was stained with the blood of all the warriors led by that foreign feline, and in a threatening tone, she aimed at Arn in the local language.

-"All right, kitty, all your goons are dead;"- The human threatened the Romalian, while she was breathing heavily after having finished fighting the foreign bandit's men, and drenched in sweat and blood. -"now you have to choose: Surrender immediately, vanish from here, or prepare to die in combat. It is up to you."-

But that man, not caring that he no longer had anyone by his side who could help him, and knowing that he would probably not leave that village alive, far from being deterred by the words of that person from another world, in a suicidal act, he unsheathed another weapon, a war knife, since he had lost his sword when Akane threw that toxic gas at him minutes before, and in what was possibly his last resolve as a warrior, he lunged at Akane with that weapon, hoping that if he was going to die, he would not go to hell alone...

-"(SI EGO MORI, TU VADE MECUM AD INFERNUM, TE FUSCO NIGRA MULIER!) IF I AM GOING TO DIE, YOU WILL GO WITH ME TO HELL, YOU DARK-SKINNED WOMAN!"-

Akane quickly noticed the knife that Arn was using, and she realized that the weapon that the foreigner intended to use against her was not a weapon created on that planet, but a knife made on Earth.

And it wasn't just any knife: that knife belonged to Akane's late friend, Private Keisuke Noguchi; Akane recognized his knife because it was obviously the same knife that he had bought as an original replica of the same weapon used in an action movie of the late 20th century and that had cost Noguchi a considerable fortune, approximately more than 2000 dollars, and it was imported from the U.S. This only meant one thing for her, when that human woman saw Noguchi's cherished blade in the hands of that alien warrior...

-"(き。。。貴様！) Y... YOU BASTARD!"-

...Arn and his men were the ones who mortally wounded Noguchi, and had taken his belongings, and it was obvious that the bandits had chosen to attack the village because Akane, the immediate superior of that deceased Japanese soldier, lived there, with all that it implied. This caused African-Japanese woman, who was already enraged at that point, to lose any shred of self-control, and...

-"(貴様ら強姦魔クソ野郎共が野口を殺したんだよ！) YOU AND YOUR WHOLE BUNCH OF RAPIST MOTHERFUCKERS WERE THE ONES WHO MURDERED NOGUCHI!"- Akane yelled with all her strength. -"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

...The human cried out in Japanese in the worst language she could utter at that moment, while she hurled herself at Arn with all her might, not caring about anything else. That man was going to pay for the death of his friend and she would be the one to kill him with her own hands.

And in that critical instant, Akane, mustering all her strength, took from her waist the sheath of her sword, which, by the way, was inside it, and, instead of what one would think in that situation, far from drawing her weapon, Akane used the sheath, sword and all, as if it were a sledgehammer, and with it, the human hit Arn's face with such force that his teeth flew off into the air due to the brutal impact of that blow.

And before the humanoid could even respond to the blow from the Japanese human, Akane used her left hand to grab the bandit leader by the neck and strangle him, and then she threw him to the ground. Soon after, the female soldier, using her right fist, began to swiftly and brutally slaughter the alien feline's face, with a wrath that none of the human's friends had ever seen from her before.

-"YOU...! WORTHLESS...! PIECE...! OF...! CRAP...! HOW...! DARE...! YOU...! AND...! YOUR...! ARMY...! OF...! FURRY...! SCUMBAGS...! TO HURT...! MY...! FRIENDS...! AND...! KILL...! MY...! FRIEND...! NOGUCHI...!"- Akane cried at the raiding leader in the local language, being too enraged to do it in Japanese, as she pounded his face to the rhythm of her voice.

And so she continued hitting Arn in his face, so that the leader, far from trying to fight back, was now only trying to break away from the murderous rampage of that woman, who did not rest until she would saw that alien dead with her own fists. She was not going to give that warrior a glorious death in a duel with swords, but she was going to give him something much worse and more humiliating: to die at the hands of a woman.

And at that moment, Akane, who saw that Arn had dropped Noguchi's knife during the fight, and was standing next to her, she quickly reached for it with her right hand, and pointed it threateningly at the feline's head. She was going to finish the man off with the weapon of her friend, whom he had killed, with his own weapon, and avenge his death.

The leader of the bandits, with his face completely bloodied, and already completely devoid of strength to protect himself or strike back, only watched in horror as Akane was going to use her subordinate's knife to turn his head into mincemeat with it.

But before the African-Japanese woman could strike the final blow at him...

-"AKANE, STOP!"- A male voice was heard behind the human woman's back -"WE NEED THAT MAN ALIVE!"-

Akane knew very well whose voice was urging her to restrain her rage against that enemy leader: It was from Chief Pownetkee, the leader of the Highland tribe, and for some reason, he wanted that foreigner alive. This was not to the liking of the human, who was eager to avenge the death of her subordinate with her own fists, something she let him know in the most loudest terms.

-"But chief...!"- The black woman yelled at the feline man, still quite angry and willing to kill Arn with Noguchi's knife. -"This bastard... THIS ROTTEN BASTARD!... he's the one who killed my friend Keisuke Noguchi... on top of the fact that he and his men hurt Kayce and attacked this village... and tried to slave and kill all of us... AND YOU STILL WANT ME TO LET HIM LIVE?!"-

-"We need to know who he works for and his reasons for attacking our village; he won't be of any use to us if he' s dead. Therefore, I order you to stop beating him and we had better subdue him instead."- The leader explained his reasons. -"Besides, all of his other men are already dead, so that's more than enough punishment for him for the time being."-

The human could not believe what she was hearing; in other circumstances, the most logical thing is that no one would have cared if she had killed that man, considering his crimes, and even more considering that the tribe appeared to be a relatively primitive culture. Hearing that her hosts had no intention of executing him, despite all he had done, made Akane raise her voice in outcry.

-"BUT, SIR!"- Akane protested against Pownetkee. -"ARE YOU GOING TO ALLOW THIS...?"-

-"Don't make me explain this again, Akane Araki!"- The chief let her know in no uncertain terms that his authority was absolute. -"That's an order!"-

Seeing that she had no choice but to let that man live, despite his crimes, the human put down her knife and signaled that she was willing to do the chief's bidding, at least reluctantly.

-"Understood... chief."-

Akane put the knife in her belt, and she immediately began to subdue Arn, while she waited for someone to bring something to tie him up with until they found a sturdy tool to immobilize him with.

-"Well, let's help Akane restrain this warrior, and we'll take him to my teepee for interrogation while we wait for the other warriors as they return from hunting."-

Pownetkee ordered both Liska and the Seneschal to help Akane to subdue Arn, by using a rope the latter found, using a rope that belonged to one of the corpses of the enemy raiders they had fought minutes before.

And as for the young slave girl, she was as upset as her friend Akane about leaving the man alive, but, like the female soldier of Earth, she had no choice but to obey. Still, she had some words in store for Arn, as she helped to tie the man up.

-"Be thankful that the chief spared your life, otherwise you would be dead by now..."- Liska angrily said at Arn, while tying his hands up in the meanwhile.

And so, once everyone had made sure that there were no more enemy warriors lurking around the village, and that there were no reinforcements of any kind, the villagers took the Romalian commander, the only survivor of that battle, to the chief's teepee for questioning, while they waited for the other warriors to return home, ending that harsh battle with an absolute victory for the natives.

END OF ACT XXX